Under cloudy skies and rain, with brisk winds blowing up to 15 miles per hour, the 2006 Big Ten Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships Kicked off today at Ralph Young Field on the campus of Michigan State University. Ohio State jumped out to an early lead with 17 team points after two final events scored. Wisconsin and Indiana are not far behind as the Badgers are currently in second place with 15 points while the Hoosiers are third with 14 points. Iowa (11 pts.) and Penn State (9 pts.) sit at fourth and fifth, respectively. Minnesota is in sixth place and Illinois is seventh. The remaining Big Ten teams will begin competition tomorrow.

Through five events, Wisconsin holds a 1-2-3 advantage over the decathlon competition. Senior Nathan Brown leads the field with 3820 total points after finishing first in the shot put portion with a toss of 49'11" (15.21 meters) and tying for the top spot in the high jump, clearing 1.92 meters with Penn State freshman Chris Morrisey. Brown is trailed by teammate Joe Detmer who boasts 3740 points halfway through the competition. Detemer also placed first in two events, crossing the line in 11.07 in the 100-meter dash as well as clocking in at 48.11 in the 400-meter event. Senior Ben Roland joins his Badger teammates in the top-three as his 3651 points places him third overall. Morrisey is in fourth place with 3525 points while teammate Shawn Colligan has tallied 3495 points and sits in the No. 5 spot.

Iowa junior, Adam Hamilton, is the 2006 hammer throw champion after tossing an NCAA regional qualifying distance of 208'01" (63.43 meters). The Hawkeye led the Big Ten entering this weekend in the evend and defeated runner-up Will Flemming of Indiana by nearly three feet. Flemming also finished with a regional qualifying mark of 205'05" (62.62 meters). Another Hoosier qualifed for the NCAA championships today as Ryan Ketchum met a distance of 189'06" (57.75 meters), good enough for third place. Scott Vernon, a senior from Penn State placed fourth (184'02"/56.13 meters) and Minnesota junior Chris Hudspith finished fifth (178'05"/54.38 meters).

In the night cap, Ohio State's Brian Olinger captured the 10,000-meter title with a season-best time of 28:45.69. The senior, who never fell below fifth place through all 25 laps of the 400-meter track, battled with Wisconsin's Simon Bairu for the top position and moved into the lead with three laps remaining. Bairu, a 2005 and 2006 NCAA cross country champion, could not pass Olinger and finished second in 29:00.03. Bairu's teammate, Tim Nelson, the 2005 Big Ten Champion in the event, finished third as he clocked in at 29:09.48. Illinois' Trent Hoerr and Penn State's Dan Mazzocco recorded in fourth-and fifth-place finishes with times of 29:13.86 and 29:41.31, respectively. Antonio Vega (sixth) of Minnesota, Buckeye John Ealy (seventh) and Badger Antony Ford (eigthth) rounded out the top-eight competitors.

The first event of day two is the decathlon 110-meter hurdles which is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. ET.